Sorted Laundry
by Wayward Tempest
Summary: The Balamb Garden laundry room, a place feared by her inhabitants. Everyone has their stories.(Chapter four, dried in the sunshine) COMPLETE
1. Pre-Wash

[][1]

Final Fantasy VIII and its characters are copyright Squaresoft. This is a little fic of three parts ^^; yes, so I can claim to myself that I have done a multichaptered fic..oh, the shallowness of it all. Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, I present a Queifer fic, my first, prolly my last too. ^_~   
  


**Sorted Laundry** by Wayward_Tempest   
  


It's Automatic   
I never really had it   
The love that grows in time   
Apophatic.   
Cataphatic.   
She's really not the tragic kind.   
She's just waiting for love   
But she hasn't got the time   
Maybe someday, She'll complain. ---Collapsis (Automatic)

  
  
The place is cursed. Everyone here knows it. It's become a place more dreaded than the training center. Of course, there are no T-Rexaurs bleaching their underwear down here thankfully. No, this presence is completely unknown, invisible to the human eye. Which makes it even more frightening. Down in the depths of the Balamb Garden laundry room.   
  
Everyone has stories. Students will avoid that place like the plague. Clothes pile up in the dorms. Occasionally you'll catch students scrubbing their clothes in the shower rooms. Because rarely does a trip down there go without incident, people have come to fear it. Take my friends for example.   
  
The last time Squall Leonhart entered through those doors he had his soiled SeeD uniform pants in hand. Earlier that day Zell had accidentally dumped a plate of chilidogs in Squall's lap. Just two hours before he was supposed to address the entire Garden. Needless to say, his mood was fouler than usual. So off he goes to the dark recesses of the laundry room, unaware of the danger in his present state of irritation. And it ended up blindsiding him across the face, or rather, to be more specific, in the pants. Mysteriously enough, some bleach found its way into the same washing machine as his black pants. So that night, he had to give his very important speech in a pair of neatly pressed, perfectly fitted pants. And they were a lovely shade of mud brown. It was all we could do to get him to come out of his room after that for a week.   
  
Zell, well Zell nearly lost his virginity in the laundry room, to that cute little pig-tailed girl that works in the library. What the hell is her name? I can never remember. Anyway, I think the spin cycle became too much for them, one thing led to another and then… well…you get the idea. And I suppose your saying that it's not a bad thing. And it wasn't. However, caught up in the throws of passions there was two key essentials they overlooked. Essentials that had they been in any other room of the Garden, they would have remembered. One was, of course, to lock the door. Two, was that they'd forgotten about student initiation day, in which the newly inducted students get a tour of the entire Garden. You can put those two together and get an idea of what happened next. He was caught with his shorts down around his ankles, and her with nothing but a look of surprise plastered on her face. Zell managed to earn a few new nicknames after that. Irvine charmingly refers to him as Mr. Suds Stud. Poor Zell.   
  
Irvine was involved with the laundry room in a somewhat indirect incident. It all began one day when Selphie was taking the service elevator to deliver a cartload of laundry to the washers. See, when your new here, you're a potential victim for the other students to throw their clothes on. Especially, when you have one of those nice, sweet, and gullible personalities. Naturally being that sort of person, Selphie said she didn't mind at all. It never crossed her mind to question why there were clothes in that cart that hadn't been washed in months. And as she descended in the small elevator, about halfway down, it became stuck. That poor girl was stuck in a closed and confined space, with a cart full of rancid clothes, for two hours. Probably the longest two hours of her life I'm sure. It's amazing she didn't suffocate. After hearing about the incident, and seeing that Selphie was indeed all right, he began to laugh at the hilarity of the situation. Perhaps thinking that maybe, she too would see it and laugh along with him. He spent the next two hours in the infirmary, tending his two swollen black eyes.   
  
Yes, the unbelievers do become believers, very quickly. Rinoa laughed at the idea of a cursed laundry room, as many people do will do when they arrive here. She didn't laugh long. She offered to wash Squall's clothes after his little pants incident, as he refused to go down there again. And who could blame her? It's hard to have a relationship with someone in malodorous clothes. Showers can only do so much. So she dismissed his warnings and pleas with a wave of her hand. Her foot ended up finding the only puddle of spilled liquid detergent in the entire room. She slipped and banged her head against a dryer. Had to have five stitches in her forehead. She just had them removed a few days ago, her and Squall have matching scars now, though hers isn't quite as big. They look quite adorable together.   
  
I could go on and on. Like I said, everyone has his or her own stories about their experiences. And just yesterday, I had mine.   
  
  
  
End prologue. Comments and suggestions much appreciated.   
  


   [1]: 



	2. Wash

It was long after curfew when I crept through the hallway, hoping perhaps that the curse slept like everyone else did. So with my small load of laundry, my Save the Queen, a few dozen elixirs, all the blue magic I could carry and a couple of GFs, I made my way to the elevator entrance.   
  
Was I taking chances? Hell no.   
  
Anyway, the elevator ride went without incident. And with a quick and stealthy sweep of the room, checking for potential hazards and finding none, I put in my gil coins, loaded in the whites, pushed the start button…yes, it was easy enough, things seemed to be in order, unfortunately, this wouldn't last. As the doors made their automatic shifting sound and I realized I wasn't going to be alone.   
  
Remember the underwear bleaching t-rexaurs I was talking about? Here he comes.   
  
"Well, well, if it isn't Garden's most newly reappointed instructor."   
  
"Well, if it isn't Garden's most newly reappointed jerk," I replied as coolly as possible.   
  
"So good to see you too Quistis."   
  
I finally turned to face my adversary. He was smirking like he always did. That little act that always managed to get under my skin. He was holding a load of laundry big enough to choke a Marboro. It smelt like one too.   
  
"So what are you doing here so late?" I questioned.   
  
"Eh, couldn't sleep, the monsters in the training center are a joke this late at night. Nocturnal my ass. Lazy bastards. So I figured I would just head on down to the only other 24-hour service opened in this establishment. Didn't think I'd be running into any grats down here." He gave me a look. "Guess I was wrong." He chuckled.   
  
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Oh nice, did you think that one up all by yourself? That must have taken a lot of brain cells for you. Better sit down and rest after that one. Don't want you to forget how to breathe or anything."   
  
"Hah, you wish." Was his only reply.   
  
Perhaps now is a good time to explain hostilities. Honestly, I've never wished anything bad for Seifer. Throughout the hell of the events four months ago, he suffered too. He was human just like the rest of us, and that made him weak; we all saw that. We all could forgive him. I think maybe that's what really got to him. Getting readmitted back to Balamb was a real shock for him as well. But he refused to acknowledge his gratefulness to anyone. Instead, he covered all those feelings up behind the sarcastic bastard that he had always been.   
  
"Surely these can't be yours Quistis," he said waving my black satin underwear in my face. "Who on earth do you wear these for?"   
  
Sometimes however, it becomes increasingly hard to resist that urge to choke him.   
  
"Give me those," I said as I snatched them away. "Is there any decency in you at all?"   
  
He didn't seem to hear me.   
  
"I mean, obviously you aren't the entertaining type, unless maybe you're giving all the trepies a tuurnnn.bllphffhtt!"   
  
"Seifer, I'm not above leaving you lipless. Now please, just shut that big flapping mouth of yours so we can finish this laundry and get the heck out of here." I proceeded to release his lips with a shove.   
  
"What's the hurry? Oh…don't tell me you believe all that evil laundry room crap. C'mon Quistis you're bigger than that."   
  
"Yes, I do believe it, I've been witness to several incidents down here. It's simply too many to be coincidence."   
  
"Oh please, its all just a big load of blobra shit."   
  
"Your metaphors are charming Seifer."   
  
"Why thank you."   
  
"I don't like charming."   
  
"Meh, your loss."   
  
"So why do you have such a big load of laundry?" I questioned him. "Surely not because you've been…putting it off because of something."   
  
"No," he said defensively, "I for one have more important things to do than wash clothes. Besides Raijin and Fujin usu…I mean, I just don't have time.   
  
"What was that about Raijin and Fujin? Hmm? I think I missed that."   
  
"They usually do it for me I said!"   
  
"Why'd they stop?"   
  
"I have no damn clue. Neither one of them will tell me. The only thing I can get out of Fujin is 'SOAP.' and 'EVIL.' And every time Raijin hiccups, bubbles come out of his mouth."   
  
"So you've finally been forced to do something for yourself. Oh, Seifer, this is such a big step for you, I'm so proud."   
  
"How about you just concentrate on getting those trepie stains out of your clothes, hmm? That shouldn't be too hard, I'm sure there are plenty of them."   
  
Damn the nerve of that guy. Trust me, as one who speaks from experience, it's overwhelming. I dug my nails into the palm of my hand as I clenched and unclenched it tightly, trying desperately to resist the urge to cold cock that smirk right off his face. Wouldn't look good on my record, after all.   
  
I watched out of the corner of my eye as he removed that old dirty trench coat that he had wore since he was 16. It was ripped and torn around the bottom edges. It was hardly standard dress protocol. Then again, Seifer had never been standard.   
  
"Why do you even bother washing that thing?" I questioned. "Why don't you just buy you a new one?"   
  
He was quiet for a moment, a first for him.   
  
"Because sometimes you need something to remind you." He said as he ran his hands through the folds of the coat. "Some stains never come clean." He sighed and threw it in the machine. I realized that we were not discussing old laundry anymore. And suddenly, I had this overwhelming urge to comfort him.   
  
"Seifer…it's never too late, the stains, they fade…with time." What kind of philosophical detergent did I just spill? Hyne that sounded stupid!   
  
He looked at me dumfounded. "Where the hell did that come from?"   
  
Shoot! I wasn't the only one who noticed.   
  
"Oh I don't know," I replied as I tried to force the blush down that was storming my cheeks. "I read it on a Ziggy calendar or something, I guess."   
  
"Well, don't quit your day job eh?"   
  
"Hey, I was just offering some words of encouragement buddy, not that I should be encouraging anything from a stupid self-righteous arrogant…   
  
The rest of my genius and brilliant comeback faded as the machines suddenly stopped turning, and the lights went out. Yes of all times, Balamb Garden picks now to experience a blackout. Now, when I am in the last place I want to be in the dark, with the last person I want to be with in the dark.   
  
"Shit!" His voice rang out in the darkness.   
  
Seifer apparently had similar feelings.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~*~ Chapter 2! That's a wrap. Yes, I have decided to stretch this a bit beyond two chapters…maybe 3 maybe 4. Depends on all the embarrassing situations I can put these two into. So here they are, stuck in the dark, in laundry hell. What evil lurks here in the darkness? Will they fall into the recesses of madness? Will they get out alive? Will they live to tell about it? Will they ever see the light of day AGAIN?!?   
  
Yeah, they'll be fine…I promise.   
  
Comments and suggestions always welcome! They are tacked up on my refrigerator to be adored for all time! Long live frozen dinners and reviews! ^_~ 


	3. Soap

Characters are copyrighted to Squaresoft.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Seifer, calm down and stop moving, you're going to run into something."   
  
There was a loud bang.   
  
"Son of a bitch!"   
  
"I told you."   
  
"Then do tell me oh wise one," he queried in the calmest voice he could muster. "Pray tell…just what exactly in IFRIT'S HOT HELL DO YOU SUGGEST WE DO?!?!"   
  
"Just relax, the backup generators should cut on soon, they should be enough to power the emergency lights."   
  
"Fine, fine, you just keep talking, I'm going to find you, that way if something decides to attack us in here I can throw you in front of it."   
  
"Your chivalry knows no bounds does it?"   
  
"Is that you?"   
  
"Yes, here, take my hand."   
  
"Okay."   
  
"…Seifer."   
  
"Hmm?"   
  
"That's NOT my hand."   
  
"Ohh…sorry."   
  
"Mmm hmm."   
  
We stood there in the darkness for what seemed like hours, but it was more like ten minutes. He was holding on to my hand fiercely throughout the eternity of minutes. It was quite painful, and my fingers were growing numb. But, I remained quiet. I was till in shock that this strong fearless man, was for some reason, afraid. When the emergency lights did flicker on, he released my hand immediately and headed for the door.   
  
"See? I told you, nothing to worry about."   
  
"Right. Sure."   
  
He proceeded to press the elevator button gently…then with a bit more force…and then he banged his fist against it repeatedly.   
  
"Seifer, it won't open. The backup generators don't power the elevators."   
  
"Well that's stupid isn't there an emergency stairwell or something leading out of this place?"   
  
"There was a set of stairs at one time, but too many incidents of students falling down them resulted in their removal."   
  
"Well, shit. So, I guess we're stuck here?"   
  
"Yeah," I replied. "At least until the blackout is over."   
  
Great," he sighed as he plopped unceremoniously in the corner of the room. Did I really bother him that much?   
  
"Surely I'm not that bad," I said, making my inner thoughts verbal.   
  
He looked up at me then. "No, no its not you, Quistis. I…I just don't like the feeling of being trapped with no way out. Know what I mean? Kind of claustrophobic."   
  
"Well, no one enjoys being trapped," I replied as I sat down beside him. "But hey, at least we have someone to talk to…it could be worse."   
  
"Oh yeah," he replied with a small smile. "I could be stuck down here with chicken wuss or puberty boy."   
  
"That, would be a disaster," I chuckled, "Certainly wouldn't be a person unscathed out of that scenario."   
  
"Nope, they'd be limping out of here."   
  
"Oh please, so would you!"   
  
"I doubt it."   
  
And then came that unnerving period of uncomfortable silence. Uncomfortable because of the situation we were in. Uncomfortable because there was no immediate solution to it, no flip of a switch that would get us out of the room. It was uncomfortable because the temperature was beginning to rise as the air from the vents ceased to circulate. Uncomfortable, because of some strange feeling I had sitting next to him. And uncomfortable, because that man would not stop grinding his teeth.   
  
"Seifer, please stop that."   
  
"Sorry."   
  
I mean it really never occurred to me before that I might actually hold feelings for this arrogant man, and yet when I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes I seen a scared little boy deep within his own eyes as he fidgeted with his hands nervously. I wanted to comfort that boy, and reach out to him. The same as I had wished for Squall once upon a time, because it was easier to see that he did need someone, unlike haughty Seifer who acted as if he had all he wanted, with never an inkling of doubt in his eyes. At least that's the way he was, before all that mess with Ultimecia. He had changed, though it was subtle. One had to know where to look. I discovered this, somewhat proud of myself for making this conclusion. And thinking perhaps there was hope for this misguided boy yet.   
  
He looked at me then, his eyes full of something, and I thought for an instant he was going to say something insightful.   
  
"Quistis?"   
  
"Yes?"   
  
"Will you stop clicking your fingernails? That's really annoying."   
  
"Oh…sorry." "Hey, what's that opening over there?" He said as he pointed in the far corner.   
  
"That's the laundry chute."   
  
He stood and walked over to it, bent down and looked inside.   
  
"Seifer, neither one of us could fit in that thing, so don't even suggest it."   
  
"No, captain obvious, I'm not stupid. But maybe we can call for help…someone will be bound to hear us."   
  
"It's after curfew Seifer, I doubt anyone's awake."   
  
"Well, I'd say there should be a few people out and about trying to fix the fuse box or something." He then proceeded to lie down on his back and crawl into the opening headfirst. Before I could protest, it was too late."   
  
"Hey, can anyone hear me?" I heard him say as he yelled up the chute. "We could use some help down here!"   
  
He yelled for a few minutes until realizing no one was there to answer, it was then that he tried to move out from the hole…and found that he could not.   
  
Meanwhile I was doubled over laughing silently at the inevitable. Tears rolling down my face. It took him a few minutes before he had enough pride to say that he needed help.   
  
"Umm…Quistis?"   
  
"Yes?" I squeaked and let out a small hiccup.   
  
"Wait…are you laughing at me?!?!"   
  
"No." I said trying to sound serious, which resulted in my laughter exploding out loud.   
  
"This isn't funny!" He yelled.   
  
"I know it shouldn't be…" I wheezed. "But, I can't help it! This is priceless!"   
  
"Oh harde har har," he spat. "Will you help me?"   
  
"What do you say?"   
  
"What?"   
  
"What's the magic word?"   
  
"The hell Quistis, I'm not a kid damn it!"   
  
"Ah ah, I can only help those who are polite." Yes, can you tell? I was enjoying this.   
  
"Fine. Will you 'please' help me?"   
  
"There now, was that so hard?"   
  
"Whatever."   
  
"My, my, Squall has been rubbing off on you."   
  
"Quistis…help…now!"   
  
"Fine, I'm coming."   
  
I proceeded to stand over him and try to fit my hands in to try and push him out by his shoulders. This would prove to be mistake number two…this time on my part.   
  
"Quistis…what are you doing?"   
  
"Helping you."   
  
I reached pried through until I could grab hold of his shoulders. I started to push when I realized, my hands were going nowhere either. Dumb move Quistis, dumb, dumb, dumb.   
  
I struggled more. They wouldn't budge. Okay, don't panic, just relax and they will pull right out. I took a deep breath, relaxed, and discovered…that didn't work either.   
  
"Seifer…your not gonna believe this."   
  
"Oh God, no."   
  
I sighed heavily.   
  
"Yeah, my hands are stuck." 


	4. Rinse/Repeat

"You can't move them at all?"   
  
"No."   
  
"Try again."   
  
"What the hell do you think I'm doing now? You think I'm enjoying this? Don't flatter yourself!"   
  
"No, I didn't mean that, really this is just very uncomfortable."   
  
"You're telling me."   
  
"Damn it, I'm going to fall."   
  
"No, please!"   
  
"I can't stand like this."   
  
"Well, you can…sit."   
  
"Sit?"   
  
Are you ready for the part where this innocent accident looks horrendously bad to the unknown outside viewer? Here it comes.   
  
"Sit? But I don't want to hurt you."   
  
"Hurt me? Please, my gunblade is heavier than you. Just sit on my stomach and let's figure something out."   
  
"Um…okay."   
  
I sat down.   
  
"Oh God! My back!"   
  
"Shit! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I tried desperately to stand up again.   
  
"Heheheh, just kidding."   
  
"Asshole!"   
  
"That's Mr. Asshole to you Instructor," he chuckled.   
  
"I'm glad you are finding humor in this, personally I think I'm going to have to undergo serious therapy for being this close to you for more than five minutes."   
  
"Yeah…well…you and me both!"   
  
"You know you can be such a…"   
  
"Shhh!"   
  
"What?"   
  
"I can hear voices coming down the chute…"   
  
I listened intently. Sure enough I heard two female voices nearing the chute. So it all came down to getting help out of this mess, or getting seen in this incomparable position. It was a really tough call. In the end we decided to try and get their attention…we could pay them to keep quiet.   
  
_ "I'm serious Kristine, I heard voices coming from the laundry chute."_   
  
_"Nicole, your socks aren't coming back…it's time to let go." _   
  
_ "Damn it I loved those socks! But no, this is not about my socks this time, I swear there's something in the laundry chute!" _   
  
_ "Okay fine, fine, lets go look." _   
  
We heard the small hatch open near the top. I could feel the beam from the flashlight warm on my hands a bit. Seifer was about to say something, but his words were muffled by the shrill screams above.   
  
"Oh my God!! It's a severed head!!!"   
  
_ "Commander Leonhart! There's a severed head in the laundry chute!!"_   
  
We listened dumfounded as the boots of our rescuers resounded against the floor and faded as they went in search of more help…from people we knew…this would not turn out good…no…not at all.   
  
A simultaneous sigh echoed in the laundry room. And then the power came back on. This further infuriated the man below me.   
  
"This is all your fault Quistis!"   
  
"My fault? Ha!" I barked, "My fault…sure and how do you figure that?"   
  
"You could have told me I'd get stuck!"   
  
"Damn you, I tried! It just didn't seem to reach past the walls of your enormously thick head!"   
  
"That's it!" he fumed. "Get your thick ass off me!"   
  
"Believe me, I would if I could! Hyne knows what kind of parasites live on a parasite!"   
  
"And what is that supposed to mean?"   
  
"You know damn well what I mean!"   
  
Indeed, we were bonding quite well don't you think?   
  
"Oh please, I'm sure you find yourself in this situation nightly," he snorted, "This should be nothing new for you."   
  
My hands…they could almost reach his neck…yes just a little farther and I could strangle the bastard!   
  
"Gak! Quistis…I can't breathe!" He wheezed.   
  
"Good!"   
  
"Please let go, I was…kidding…urk…I'm…sorry."   
  
I let go of him. After all, murder wouldn't really look good on my record. Tempting as it was. And anyway, about that time we were interrupted once again.   
  
"Seifer?" Came a deep voice from above. "What the hell are you doing?"   
  
"Puberty boy," Seifer growled lowly.   
  
"Squall, we need some help!" I yelled, knowing Seifer would rather die than ask him for help.   
  
"Quistis? Where are you?"   
  
I wiggled my hands so he could see them. "I'm…right here."   
  
There was a long silence then. Followed by an "eeeeeeee" and then more silence. Its very weird to hear Squall laugh, I mean really laugh, and its not just because he doesn't do it a lot. It's because he has one of those silent laughs. The only sound he makes is that "eeeeeee" when he gasps for breath. This continued for several minutes…apparently he found our situation very amusing. Seifer on the other hand was quaking beneath me, no doubt gruesome murder of the commander on his mind.   
  
"Squall what's going on?" Ah, here came Rinoa.   
  
"Seifer…Quistis…stuck…together in the laundry chute! Eeeeeeee!"   
  
"What!?"   
  
"Quistis?" she yelled. "Are you okay?"   
  
Ah, Rinoa, Hyne bless her. "Yes! I'm okay! Just…stuck!"   
  
"Don't worry, we'll have you out of there in no time!"   
  
"Yeah, I'm okay too Rinoa, thanks for asking!" Seifer spat.   
  
"Ohh…that's good."   
  
"Your concern for my well being overwhelms me."   
  
Rinoa didn't seem to hear the last remark as she began discussing the situation with Squall.   
  
"Squall! You big louse stop laughing! C'mon, they need help!"   
  
"Camera, must…find camera. Eeeeeeee!"   
  
A loud smack echoed down the chute.   
  
"Ow! That hurt! Okay, okay I'm going! I'm going! Zell has a blowtorch, I'll go get him."   
  
"Don't you dare bring chickenwuss down here!" Seifer yelled, apparently to deaf ears, or to ears that were already long gone.   
  
This did little to quell his rage.   
  
"Seifer calm down before you give yourself a brain aneurysm," I said in the best calm voice I could muster. I could feel the heat seething off him like an unstable furnace about to explode. I thought perhaps if he did then maybe I could pull my hands out. Yes, I know, that wasn't very nice. But it was a nicer statement than the ones he would be getting I assure you.   
  
Yes they began as soon as soon as we heard the whoosh of the elevator door.   
  
"This has got to be the best damn day of my life!" Zell's loud voice echoed in the small room.   
  
"Oh Hyne, its even funnier than I imagined," Squall laughed.   
  
"You two cut it out!" Rinoa said.   
  
"Guys…please," I pleaded. "I was trying to help him out…it didn't exactly go as I'd planned."   
  
"No Quisty we're not laughing at you," Zell said. "We're just enjoying a good laugh at Seifer's expense. Got caught with your moron pants on eh pal?" He chided as he kicked Seifer in the leg.   
  
"No, really, he's on the verge of spontaneous combustion," I said, "Please, I would like to survive this if possible."   
  
"Ah, don't worry," Zell said as he flipped a button on the torch. "We'll have you out in no time."   
  
"That's what I'm afraid of," I replied. "He is definitely going to try and kill you two when he gets out of here."   
  
"Well, that's why we brought Rinoa."   
  
Rinoa waved from behind the two of them.   
  
"Why Rin…"   
  
My question was cut short as Zell's torch started cutting into the metal wall, and Seifer finally regained his ability to speak in his anger.   
  
"Damn it chickenwuss, you're getting a little too close for comfort with that damn thing!"   
  
"Hey, how bout shutting up while I work hmm? I could always burn you a new belly button."   
  
Zell was enjoying this immensely, and really could you blame him?   
  
When he was nearly finished cutting the piece out of the wall he motioned to Squall.   
  
"Okay Squall, You come and lift this off."   
  
Squall complied and lifted the hunk of metal that hindered our freedom. I sighed in relief as I could once again move my wrists.   
  
My God did they hurt!   
  
Quickly remembering I was sitting on a time bomb I jumped up and backed away, strangely Seifer remained motionless. My concern instinct took over…damned if I know why.   
  
"Seifer, are you okay? You can move now."   
  
I heard him sigh as his fists clenched tightly. "Kill you…," he whispered venomously. "I…am going to…kill you two!" He jumped up in rage and immediately lunged for Squall and Zell. Rinoa stepped casually in front of them.   
  
"Stop," she said, and he froze in mid-lunge. Then she snapped her fingers together and said, "Sleep."   
  
Seifer fell to the floor with a loud thud. I was sure he would be feeling that in the morning.   
  
"Okay, Zell you get his feet," Squall said. "We'll haul him back upstairs."   
  
"No," I interrupted, not really sure why. "It's okay…I'll stay here with him until he wakes up. He's been through enough for one day, I think you need to leave him with at least a shred of his dignity."   
  
I couldn't believe I said that.   
  
I looked up at the three of them whose mouths were agape with shock. Apparently they couldn't believe it either.   
  
"No really, it's fine. I'll just wait here."   
  
"Quistis," Zell said. "He's gonna be dangerous when he wakes up."   
  
"I can deal with it. Just go back upstairs, it definitely would do you good to keep a safe distance from him for a few days."   
  
"Okay…you remember this is _the laundry room_ don't you? The sanctity of evil!"   
  
"Yes Suds Stud…I mean Zell! I know, I think I've had my taste of it for tonight. I'll be fine, just go."   
  
Zell looked hurt. "I thought we agreed never to mention that name again."   
  
"Well, if you're sure Quistis," Squall interrupted. "Just be careful okay?"   
  
"Yeah," Rinoa winked and unconsciously scratched at the scar on her forehead. "Don't hurt him too much."   
  
I smiled and watched the three of them leave. Why the hell was I watching them leave? Damn it, I should be riding the elevator back up with them. I almost shouted at them to wait up, but I didn't. Stupid idiot Seifer… Why did I suddenly develop a conscious where he was concerned? I had no idea. I still don't.   
  
He looks different…when he sleeps. He's like an entirely different person. That cocky smirk is gone, taking with it that superficial 'asshole' aura which is more a defense mechanism than anything. Shoot, I sound like I'm defending him now. But, well, he was pretty adorable lying there in that crumpled heap. I quietly walked over to the laundry machines and grabbed his duster. Ugh…that was the nastiest bunch of rags I had ever seen! I quickly threw that down. I took one of my jackets in my clothesbasket and waded it up into a makeshift pillow as I walked over to where he was. I sat down cross-legged near him and carefully slid the jacket beneath his head. And I just sat there, and watched him sleep. He seemed so peaceful and his breathing was hypnotic. Before I knew it I was leaning against the wall, near slumber myself. I had no idea how much time had elapsed when I heard him begin to stir.   
  
"Ughh…stand up straight when I'm trying…to kill you," he mumbled before his eyes opened slowly.   
  
"What…happened?"   
  
I slid over so that I could meet him eye to eye. "Have a nice nap?" I questioned.   
  
He tried to move. "Shit! My head is killing me."   
  
"No surprise," I said. "You hit the tile pretty hard. I'm sure it's in more pain than you are."   
  
"Oh ha ha. That's right Quistis poke fun at the man on the ground. Hyne knows you rarely see them in any other position."   
  
I searched my mind…wishing desperately that I had another sleep spell. None. Oh, but I did have an Ultima. No, Quistis, remember reputation…more important.   
  
"You know Seifer, here I was just thinking how nice it was for that big mouth of yours to be closed shut. I almost felt a slight twinge of pity for you. I have no idea why the hell I decided to stay here with you. I should have left!"   
  
"I missed you too," he smirked.   
  
"Hyne you are hopeless!" I said getting to my feet. "Don't expect me to do any more favors for you!" I started to storm towards the elevator.   
  
"Hey! Wait a min…OW!"   
  
I sighed and turned. He was in a sitting position now clutching the back of his head with a hand. Gullible? Yes sadly, I am. I walked back towards him and kneeled by him.   
  
"Let me look at it."   
  
"Okay…OW! You said look! Not poke!"   
  
"I didn't poke! I barely touched it! I felt the back of his head again and I heard him draw a sharp intake of breath through his teeth.   
  
"Well you do have a nasty knot. I can't fix the one on your shoulders but maybe I can do something with the one that's on top of that one."   
  
"Ten thousand comedians out of work…" he sighed.   
  
"Cure," I said as the green light poured from my hand and enveloped him in the healing aura.   
  
"Um…thanks," he said as it faded.   
  
He doesn't say that often. I took it for all it was worth.   
  
"Yeah, you're welcome."   
  
"Now…," he said standing up. "Which way did puberty boy and chicken wuss go? They have a date with the ends of my fists."   
  
"You leave them alone. They did take the time to come down here and get us out. You should thank them."   
  
"Oh I will 'thank' them repeatedly. I will 'thank' them till they are on the ground begging for me not to 'thank' them anymore."   
  
"Do you ever get tired of carrying that enormous ego around? I'm sure its massive weight is astronomical."   
  
"Weighs less than all the bodies that's been on top of you in your lifetime I'm sure."   
  
I just wasted a cure spell on this man. Reputation be damned I was going to spill blood right then and there…until.   
  
"Hey," he smiled gently. "You know I'm just kidding. Thanks for um…staying with me. I really…appreciate it."   
  
"You're welcome," I said again, flabbergasted.   
  
"You um…wanna go get some food with me tomorrow night?"   
  
"Are you asking me out for dinner?"   
  
"Well, yeah, but not a date or anything…just…something. I'm sure you are committed to several more dates tomorrow, I don't want to add to the burden."   
  
I laughed. "No Seifer, I'm free."   
  
"Cool," he said with a smile. "Me too."   
  
Awkward silence time. I shuffled my feet nervously.   
  
"Seven okay?"   
  
"Sounds fine with me."   
  
"Great, um, see you then…have…a good night Quistis."   
  
"You too," I said and waved to him as he entered the elevator, wondering what the hell just happened. What a night it was in the land of downy soft curses.   
  
  
  
And there you have it. My experience from beginning to end on the pros and cons of cursed laundry rooms. I'll let you sort out which is which for yourself. Thank you for listening. It helps when one gets these things off their chests. I have to get going now, I have to get ready for my dat…I mean dinner with Seifer. I have no idea what I'm going to wear…I don't have a thing that's clean… Shit. Maybe Rinoa or Selphie has something. I can only hope.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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Tha end! heheh, thankyou for baring with me through this realm of no fade bleach weirdness. I blame it all on those late nights at the laundry mat near the apartment where I used to live. Thank you, sock eating dryer. Thank you for reading! Comments and suggestions much appreciated! And after much revelation during the writing of this fic...I've decided...I still hate doing laundry. ^_~ 


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